Early Years Disrupted & Reimagined — Join the Conversation, Shape the Direction

Thank you to the many members who joined our informative and collaborative member call on November 4th!

We were pleased to welcome Kate Buium, Senior Knowledge Broker with UBC’s Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP), who shared the latest Early Development Instrument (EDI) data showing how the developmental health of kindergarten-aged children has shifted before and after the pandemic. Vulnerability rates, previously at 31–33% for children aged 1–3 pre-pandemic, have risen to 35.8%, representing a 25-year high. These elevated vulnerability rates carry significant social and economic impacts for B.C.—not only as children enter school, but across their lifetimes.

While HELP’s most recent data has not yet been publicly released, you can learn more in their recent webinar, and explore their data up until Wave 8 (2022) on their EDI Data Dashboard.

Following the UBC HELP presentation, we were joined by Adrienne Montani and Andrea Lemire from First Call: Child and Youth Advocacy Society. First Call is currently updating their Early Childhood Development Framework for Action and Calls to Action, which outlines clear calls to action for government and the public to prioritize the early years. They are continuing to seek input from the early years sector as the framework is renewed.

This is an important opportunity to contribute feedback on a document that will guide advocacy and influence government decision-making for years to come!